University of Massachusetts Medical School

Through its research, education and service programs, the Centre aims to

Search out and understand the causes of intellectual and developmental disabilities for prevention and treatment

Offer state-of-the art education to undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate professionals in the intellectual and developmental disabilities field

Provide effective, high quality services to people with developmental disabilities. The University of Massachusetts Medical School is a nationally-ranked research university that also ranks consistently in the top ten in primary care education.

Shriver Centre faculty members have appointments in the UMMS Departments of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Family Medicine. The Center is led by Prof Willliam McIlvane and has more than 60 faculty and staff representing a broad range of expertise in biobehavioral, behavioral, and clinical research in the intellectual and developmental disabilities field. Eight faculty members have committed to participating in the DOCTRID Research Institute.

The Centre has approximately US$6 million in external support for its programs. Its infrastructure include facilities for conducting a broad program of biobehavioral and behavioral science research, among them a Quantitative Methodologies core, a Clinical and translational Research Support Core, and core service offering supports to conduct research using electrophysiological and eye-tracking methodologies, computer-based behavioral analysis protocols, on-site laboratories at collaborating clinical facilities, and a mobile laboratory offering all of these services.

The Shriver Centre is a member of three national/international research networks:

(1) The Intellectual & Developmental Research Centers – Shriver is one of 14 national centres supported by the U. S. EKS National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

(2) The University Centres of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (currently numbering 67) supported by the U. S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau and/or the U. S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities

(3) a bi-national Institute on Science and Technology supported by the Brazilian National Council on Scientific Development and Technology (CNPq), an eight-university network focusing on behavior, cognition, and teaching.

The Centre has a longstanding program in Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders supported by the U. S. Maternal & Child Health Bureau. It also has trained numerous pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students in its individual research programs.